


Smile

by Phosphorescent



Category: The Mentalist
Genre: Character Study, Drama, Gen, Horror, Mystery, Wordcount: 100-500
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-09-12
Updated: 2013-09-12
Packaged: 2017-12-26 08:31:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 132
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/963819
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Phosphorescent/pseuds/Phosphorescent
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>He feigns humanity well, and people don't realize how close he totters to the brink…</p>
            </blockquote>





	Smile

**Author's Note:**

> Originally posted on FF.N on 4 March 2012.
> 
> If I have written anything problematic in this or any of my stories, please don't hesitate to let me know (if that is your desire - obviously you don't owe me your education/correction). I will always listen, always thank you, and frequently do my best to fix it.

He laughs and smiles, oh he  _smiles_. Charming and golden, he performs to the crowd.

But beneath his smiles, his lies, is a cold and calculating mind; in his chest pulses a heart that beats for one thing above all else: blood. He's shrewd, but his grip on reality is tenuous, a thin, fine thread stretched almost to the snapping point.

He feigns humanity well, and people don't realize how close he totters to the brink. He smiles and he laughs, he smirks and he  _beams_. And no one realizes that his soul is hard and bright and cold, honed and hammered to a fearsome perfection; wrought, like the rest of him, to bring him closer to his desired blood-vengeance.

Patiently, he waits for his target to present himself.

And he smiles.

**Author's Note:**

> I've always thought that Red John and Jane are almost two sides of the same coin. Obviously Jane doesn't go around killing innocents, but, similarly to Red John, he possesses a certain disregard for the rights and feelings of other people. Likewise, he's single-minded when it comes to getting what he wants. Yes, Jane cares about certain individuals, but for all we know, Red John also has specific people that he cares about. I'm by no means saying that Jane is as bad as Red John – for one thing, Jane is capable of guilt – but that doesn't mean that the two men don't share certain crucial characteristics. So, who is the subject of this piece? It's up to you.


End file.
